Electric fence insulator



Patented Aug. 17, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC FENCE INSULATOR Lyle R. Huettc, Fairbury, lll.

Application May 22, 1947, Serial No. 749,627

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in insulators for the charged wires of electric fences and embodying means for easily and quickly placing the wire in the insulator and in which the wire is held against accidental displacement.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an insulator of this character embodying a yieldable body through which a fastening member is inserted for attaching the same to a fence post, the body possessing the characteristics of compressibility to facilitate gripping of the fastening member for removing the same from the post, when desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide an insulator of this character in which the charged wire may be easily and quickly placed without necessarily requiring the use of special fastening devices or without the necessity of bending, twisting or other distortion of the wire.

A still further object is to provide a device of this character of simple and practical construction, which is efficient and reliable in use, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the insulator attached to a fence post and with the charged wire supported therein;

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the insulator attached to a fence post; and

Figure 3 is a similar view showing the insulator compressed to facilitate gripping of the nail to remove the insulator from the post.

Referring now to the drawing in detail where- 2 Claims. (Cl. 174-168) in for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed l a preferred embodiment of the invention the numeral 5 designates the insulator generally which is constructed of hard rubber to provide a body I having a horizontal bore 'I extending through its lower portion for receiving a nail or other fastening device 8 for attaching the body to the side of a fence post 9.

In the present embodiment of the invention the insulator is shown attached to a wooden fence post by a nail 8, but it will be understood that the insulator may be attached to other types of fence posts by any suitable fastening element inserted in the bore 'l of the body of the insulator.

The upper front portion of the body 6 is constructed to provide a head I0 rising from the body and is formed with a vertical slot or groove I I having its upper portion open at the top of the head and having its lower portion communicating with an enlarged bore I2 extending at right angles to the bore 1 and spaced above the latter and parallel to the surface of the fence post l to which the body is attached, the bore I2 further being spaced outwardly from the post.

The rear portion of the body 6, below the head I0 is formed with a concaved recess I3 to provide relatively thin walls Il at the inner end of the body and which is held against the surface of the fence post by the fastening device 8.

The body 6 and head I0 are constructed of rubber having sufficient flexibility so that the portion of the head forwardly and rearwardly of the slot or groove II functions as jaws I5 and I6 which may be spread apart to enlarge the slot II for receiving a charged fence wire Il therein to enter the .bore I2, the normal position of the jaws I5 and I6 holding the wire in the bore l2 against accidental displacement therefrom.

When it is desired to remove the insulator from the fence post, the body 6 is pressed inwardly against the post to collapse the thin walls I 4 as shown in Figure 3 of the drawing whereupon the head of thenail or other fastening device will project outwardly from the insulator to facilitate gripping thereof by a claw hammer or other tool to remove the fastening device from the post.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it it believed that a clear understanding of theconstruction, operation and advantages of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An insulator comprising a body of yieldable insulation material having a fastening device inserted therethrough for attaching to a supporting structure, a recess in the body at its inner end providing relatively thin walls surrounding the fastening device, said walls being collapsed by pressure exerted against the outer end of the body to expose the outer end of the fastening device and said body having an opening to receive a charged wire.-

2. An insulator for an electric wire and nailing to a base, said insulator comprising a body having a through lbore therein adapted for the insertion of a. nail therethrough to attach said body to said base, and a reduced compressible portion of insulation material on said body around one end of the bore for compressing against the base by pressure exerted against the body to thereby g cause the nail to protrude from the opposite end of the body for grasping to pull the same loose, said body being provided with means for anchoring a wire thereto.

LYLE R. HUET'IE.

4 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 416,122 Park Nov. 26, 1889 422,651 Stanley Mar. 4, 1890 587,614 Stram Aug. 3, 1897 907,834 Marshall Dec. 29, 1908 2,429,857 Verner Oct. 28, 1947 

